IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

**Appearing in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention (1995, 4, Supplement 1. pp. 2-107) is an article by a group of Swedish researchers, L. Hardell, B. Holmberg, H. Malker, and L-E. Paulsson, titled "Exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields and the Risk of Malignant Diseases - An Evaluation of Epidemiological and Experimental Findings."

**"Are Magnetic Storms Hazardous to Your Health?" is an article that appears in EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (Vol. 76, No. 44, p. 1 ff, October 31, 1995) by Juan G. Roederer, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320. In recent years, the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) has been asked repeatedly to include biogeomagnetics among its international projects, but has refused. A commissioned report on this topic to SCOSTEP is available on request from Juan Roederer.

**The Senate Committee on Appropriations has cut $350,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency's EMF budget, because "The committee believes EPA should not engage in EMF activities." In a report (September 13, No. 104-140), the committee stated: "Section 2118 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 established a federal program to investigate and report on human health effects from [EMFs]. Congress mandated that this program of research and public communication be managed jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Energy. No programmatic role was assigned to EPA, yet EPA has pursued a number of unintegrated activities on EMFs that are of questionable value."

**In a September 1995 issue of Epidemiology (6, pp. 485-489), Dr. De-Kun Li, Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, Division of Research, Oakland, CA, and Drs. Harvey Checkoway and Beth Mueller, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA, report on the use of electric blankets during pregnancy and their association with a greater risk of birth defects in children born to women with low fertility.

**On August 7, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) released its report on Wireless Technologies and the National Information Structure. A section on health issues is devoted to significant changes from an earlier draft. Copies of the OTA report can be obtained for $19.00 each from: New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, PO Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250; or by calling (202) 512-1800.

**A report prepared by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on cellular phone risks was released in March 1995 - offering more questions than answers. The report, Status of Research on Biological Effects and Safety of Electromagnetic Radiation: Telecommunications Frequencies, which was commissioned by the Spectrum Management Agency (SMA) of the federal Department of Communications, was completed in June 1994. Free copies are available from: Roger Smith, SMA, Purple Building, Chan St., Belconnen, ACT 2617, Australia. Tel: +61 6 256-5555; Fax: +61 6 256-5200.

**The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) plans to issue a statement, Health Issues Related to the Use of Hand-Held Radiotelephones and Base Transmitters. According to Roger Matthes, ICNIRP's Scientific Secretary, German Institute for Radiation Hygiene, Neuherberg, the statement will appear in Health Physics.

**Dr. Eugene Sobel et al., have published "Occupations with Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields: A Possible Risk Factor for Alzheimer's Disease," in the American Journal of Epidemiology, 142, p. 522, September 1, 1995.

**The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR) has issued a statement on Public Exposure to Radiofrequency Fields from High Definition Television (HDTV) Broadcasting which appears in the September/October 1995 issue of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine. The May/June issue presented COMAR's report on Human Exposure to Microwaves and Other RF Electromagnetic Fields.

**The EPA has published two volumes of the proceedings of its Radiofrequency Radiation Conference which was held in Washington, April 26-27, 1993. To order Summary and Results of the April 26-27, 1993, Radiofrequency Radiation Conference, Volume 1: Analysis of Panel Discussions (PB95-240537, $19.50) and Volume 2: Papers (PB95-253753, $27.00) contact: National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161. Tel (800) 553-6847 or (703) 487-4650; Fax (703) 321-8547.

**A workshop was held on Magnetic Sensory Perception, November 12, 1995, in advance of the Department of Energy's EMF meeting in Palm Springs. Speakers included Dr. John Phillips, Indiana State University, Bloomington; Dr. Peter Semm, German Telekom, Darmstadt; and Dr. Dennis Willows, Friday Harbor Lab, University of Washington, Seattle. For further information, contact Paul Gailey, Oak Ridge National Lab., Oak Ridge, TN, who provides support for the DOE program. Telephone (615) 574-0419.

**Appearing in Biomimetics : Design and Processing of Materials, edited by M. Sarikaya and I. Aksay (AIP Press, 1995), is a chapter on "Structure and Function of Magnetosomes in Magnetotactic Bacteria," by R.B. Frankel and D.A. Bazylinski. The work was supported by the Office of Naval Research.